The objective in these investigations was to determine whether measurement of the energy reserve status of tall fescue plants is influenced by height of cut in darkness. Vegetatively propagated ‘Kentucky 31’ tall fescue plants, grown in the greenhouse, were preconditioned to have either high or low energy reserves. Plants within each reserve group were then defoliated at cutting heights of 0 (soil level), 3, 6, or 9 cm and placed in a dark chamber. Levels of energy reserves were estimated as the amount of regrowth in darkness expressed on a per plant or a per tiller basis. Generally, etiolated growth per plant or per tiller increased as the cutting height increased. This indicates that an energy reserve sink exists in the stem bases of tall fescue. High‐reserve plants were the most responsive to differences in height of cut. Concentration of reserves were not necessarily uniform throughout the stem base. We believe height of cut for energy reserve determination should not be less than 3 cm, and the 6‐ and 9‐cm heights appear satisfactory for most investigations.
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A. G. Matches (1969) studied this question.